Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up 1 finger] This. Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don't mean squat. Mitch: But, what is the "one thing?"
Curly:That's what You need to find out

These people were only a few years out of the despair that failure brings but they were repentant & becoming obedient. So God gives them the assurance that He has responded to their repentance & obedience & has purposed a time of blessing.

Just as it was His will for Christ to suffer for doing good, it is sometimes His will for His children to suffer for doing good. We need to be prepared for the suffering that comes into our life so that we might grow in the grace God grants His suffering